Two Sabine's Gulls at the Causeway

["Kristin Purdy" <kristinpurdy at comcast dot net>]

I couldn't decide if it would be more expensive to stay home and heat my 
house today or go birding and use gasoline.  So I flipped a coin, called 
'heads' for birding, and then continued to flip the coin until it came 
up heads.  I went birding. 

Two juvenile SABINE'S GULLS were swimming on the north side of Antelope 
Island Causeway in Davis County this morning near the rocky spit that 
stretches toward Fremont Island at about mile 1.8.  These two birds 
seemed to be sticking together.  Not only did one fly to rejoin the 
other when they became separated, but they were still together later in 
the afternoon about a tenth of a mile further west.  By then one gull 
was swimming and one was picking up goodies along the shoreline.  

The other species along the causeway were similar to those I reported 
Sunday--a HORNED GREBE in a raft of Eared Grebes on the south side near 
the big bridge and all the expected shorebirds.  Many Black-bellied 
Plovers and even two AMERICAN GOLDEN-PLOVERS were still present near 
mile marker 5.  

Garr Ranch was surprisingly good--not because the bird numbers were 
overwhelming, but because I thought the wind and rain would keep 
everything down.  That wasn't true.  The ranch hosted a Sharp-shinned 
Hawk, a Red-tail, a Prairie Falcon, a Kestrel, a Great Horned Owl, 
bunches of Ruby-crowned Kinglets and Northern Flickers, a Townsend's 
Solitaire, Yellow-rumped Warblers, Ring-necked Pheasants, and a group of 
emberzids at the south spring--White-crowned Sparrows, Dark-eyed Juncos, 
a Song Sparrow, and a Spotted Towhee.  I also saw a Cooper's Hawk along 
the road on the return north.

The most interesting sighting was perhaps the many raptors and ravens 
kiting along the road to Garr. The best spot for big birds to suspend 
themselves motionless in the stiff breeze blowing off the lake was 
within the first mile south of the chain link fence just after turning 
onto the road to Garr.  There I found Red-tails, Common Ravens, and a 
first-year Swainson's suspended; just lookin' around, lookin' around.  
The birds were just east and perhaps 30 feet higher than the road.  
Their angle/low altitude made it easy to see the differences in the 
depth of the dihedral (or lack of it) in the way they held their wings. 

A big falcon passed overhead and I followed it with binocs as it swooped 
east down the slope far below to the mudflats.  This bird was making a 
beeline for something on the flats.  The target turned out to be a 
Prairie Falcon.  The first falcon buzzed the second and the Prairie 
Falcon dropped an object it had been grasping in one foot.  I thought 
the object might be a vole, but the vole-thing bounced and rolled.  I 
didn't know voles would bounce and roll.  By then both birds were far 
enough away that I transitioned to the scope and got them in the same 
view.  The falcons landed on the flats and I still couldn't ID the first 
one that flew over my head. It was larger and gray-brown instead of pale 
chocolate brown of the Prairie Falcon.  The bigger bird had stronger 
mustachial stripes and was lacking the pale rufous wash to the tail.  
But I couldn't be sure that Big might be a young Peregrine; perhaps the 
size difference was because Big was a female.

Big Falcon took over the alleged vole that rolled by one-footing it on 
the wing--and then the chase was on.  The two falcons traded the object 
a couple times--drop, roll, one-foot grab, and then all over again.  An 
ornery Northern Harrier got in the act and made each bird drop 
vole-thing in turn.  Eventually, everybody flew away and no one had the 
thing.  When Big Falcon flew, it appeared to have dark axillaries.  
There went my theory that Big was a first-year Peregrine.   

So, despite the despicable weather, the birds didn't mind, were pretty 
active, and offered some entertainment.  Today's weather probably was 
similar to summer in the Arctic where the shorebirds breed.  That's what 
it felt like out there, anyway.

Kris

_______________________________________________

"Utah Birds" web site: http://www.utahbirds.org
     Birdnet:
To subscribe, e-mail:  birdnet-subscribe@utahbirds.org
To unsubscribe, e-mail:  birdnet-unsubscribe@utahbirds.org
To send a message, e-mail:  birdnet@utahbirds.org
_________________________________________________